tax reform

The recently passed tax legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 contains some significant negatives for New York taxpayers, and potentially for New York State. Among the most notable are the limitations placed on the deductibility of state income taxes and real property taxes. This may be somewhat offset by the increase in the standard deduction to $12,000 for single filers and to $24,000 for a married couple filing jointly. For many the increase in the standard deduction will eliminate the loss of the deductions for income taxes and real property taxes, but for others the answer is, it’s not even close.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in his State of the State speech January 3, floated the idea of converting the state income tax to a pay roll tax to help reverse the new federal law that limits deductibility for state and local taxes. Many support the concept, but businesses say it’s not so easy to make the change and it could bring unforeseen complications.

The governors of New York and California as well as New Jersey’s incoming governor are strongly condemning the Republican tax bills in Congress, saying they are unfair to their states and will wreak havoc on the U.S. economy.

A Republican New York state senator from the Hudson Valley has launched a petition urging congressional leaders to steer clear of GOP tax reform that will negatively impact area residents and result in double taxation.

New York Lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul says President Trump’s top budget official is off-base in his comments this week that people are leaving New York because of its high taxes. Mick Mulvaney also said it is not up to the federal government to save New York from its bad decisions, a reference to the Republican tax reform plan that could eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes.

New York Republican Congressman John Faso hosted a telephone town hall Tuesday night on the GOP tax reform proposal. Faso says the call was meant to help him determine the best course of action for upstate.

Hudson Valley Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney held a telephone town hall Wednesday night on the GOP tax plan. The Democrat heard what constituents think of the proposal that is slated to be voted on next week.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in a conference call with California Governor Jerry Brown Friday, singled out two New York GOP Congressmen for criticism, after they voted for a budget measure that clears the way for a vote on the GOP plan to overhaul the tax system.

The state’s governor and senior senator teamed up to urge New York’s congressional delegation to oppose a provision in the federal tax overhaul plan that they say could be harmful to the state’s taxpayers and New York’s economy.

New York’s Democratic lawmakers are vowing to fight President Trump’s tax overhaul proposal, perhaps even in court. Meanwhile, a think tank’s analysis finds some middle class New Yorkers could actually save a small amount of money under the income tax portion of the plan.

The Trump administration recently announced the outline of a tax plan that calls for lowering the corporate tax rate and decreasing the number of personal income tax brackets. While details are few, analysts are already predicting potential impacts.

Taxes and tax reform are likely to be a major topic in the next legislative session, which begins in seven weeks. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is relying on two separate commissions for ideas about tax changes, while progressive groups and Republicans in the State Senate are also weighing in.

The dreaded drop off the fiscal cliff has been avoided, so what does it mean for our taxes. Before the agreement, there were dire predictions that many middle-class Americans could see their yearly tax bills go up by some three thousand dollars, if Congress and the White House did not agree on a tax and spending plan by the time the ball dropped in Times Square.